Telangana Govt unveils its SpaceTech framework on metaverse

With a vision to establish the state as a globally recognised one-stop destination for space technology, the Telangana government on Monday launched its SpaceTech Framework. In line with the recent reforms by the Union government, the framework aims to encourage private participation in the space industry.

Taking to Twitter, Telangana Minister for IT, Industries, MA & UD wrote, "Minister KTR formally launched the Telangana Govt’s SpaceTech Framework to support the participation of private industry in the SpaceTech sector."

KT Rama Rao, Telangana's Minister for IT, Industries, and MA&UD noted that space technology is the state's next focus area and said that with the national reforms supporting the increased participation of the private sector in the spacetech industry, Telangana shall be "supporting the innovation that is bound to occur".

"In the past, we have seen several foreign private players amaze the world with technological advancements, but we know that majority of them are supported by brilliant Indian scientists and engineers. But now, it is time that the technology developed by Indians is built in the country and then exported globally. It's time that we occupy a larger share of the space industry that is expected to grow to $558 billion by 2026," the minister said.

The event that launched the framework was hosted on metaverse, making it the first such official event in India.

A space-themed metaverse environment was custom-developed along with custom avatars of the key dignitaries for the launch event. Attendees joined the event using standard avatars on the platform and interacted with the nearby participants while parallelly observing the event's proceedings - just like in a physical event.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Somanath S, Chairman, ISRO, and Dr. Pawan Goenka, Chairman, IN-SPACe participated in the event.

An NFT collection was launched at the end of the event. The proceeds from its sale has been earmarked for supporting one of the state government's technology-enabled social impact projects.